Mississauga, Ont. (June. 6, 2019) — INFINITI awards an engineering student from Calgary (Alberta) the career opportunity of a lifetime to work with INFINITI and Renault F1® Team, as Matthew Kemp is crowned winner of the INFINITI Engineering Academy 2019 Canadian final.
The INFINITI Engineering Academy is a global search for motivated engineering talent to work across automotive and Formula One™. This unique program is the most successful technical recruitment initiative of its kind, with 50 per cent of past winners securing full time roles at either INFINITI or in F1® following their placement. Through the Academy, INFINITI has successfully recruited talented student engineers in Canada for four consecutive years.
The 20-year-old Mechanical Engineer student Matthew Kemp was selected by a panel of judges from INFINITI, Renault F1® Team, the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance and Harvard University, ahead of nine other finalists and hundreds of applicants from around the country in an action-packed trackside final at FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAND PRIX DU CANADA 2019, ahead of this weekend’s Grand Prix.
To compete, the students tackled an intensive program designed to evaluate both technical and soft skills, which included an engineering exam; intensive one-to-one interviews; a decision-making challenge designed by Harvard University Professor Dr. Julia Minson; a Formula 1™ technical challenge designed by Renault F1® Team, and build a dragster model vehicle. The final challenge tested communication skills with a Q&A session in the form of a press conference with seasoned Canadian journalists.
Kemp will move to the UK in January 2020 for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where he will spend six months working at the Renault F1® Team’s Technical Center (Enstone) and six months at INFINITI’s European Technical Center (Cranfield). Included in the prize package are travel, accommodation, access to a company car and a competitive salary, as well as the opportunity to work with world-leading engineers at the forefront of the automotive and motorsport industries.
Tommaso Volpe, director of Global Motorsport & Performance Projects, INFINITI commented, “At INFINITI, we believe that human talent is the driving force behind technology. The Engineering Academy has been incredibly successful; it has allowed us to discover the best emerging talent around the world. In fact, it is no accident that half of our former winners have secured full-time engineering positions in automotive or in Formula 1™.”
Cyril Abiteboul, managing director, Renault Sport Racing, also added: ‘Attracting top new talent is crucial for success in Formula 1™, and the INFINITI Engineering Academy helps us to achieve our goal. It takes a unique talent to flourish in this industry, and the quality, in-depth selection process employed by the INFINITI Engineering Academy enables us to search for the right people efficiently. Time is the most precious commodity in Formula One™, knowing the intensive process our new engineering undergraduates have been through before they reach us is very reassuring.”
Commenting on his win, Kemp said: “I feel incredible; I have learned so much about myself and what it takes to work in motorsport. Going through all the challenges and finishing on top is amazing. Being the youngest, I felt like the underdog, but it has been an honour to compete alongside the nine other finalists. I am very thankful for this opportunity provided by INFINITI and the Renault F1 Team, and looking forward to starting my placement in the U.K”
“New engineering solutions are developed minute by minute in Formula 1™ – Track to road technology is more important than ever. We are training a new generation of engineers, with an important role to play in the crossover between the two industries, while empowering them with a unique program by the largest automotive alliance, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi”, concluded Volpe.
For more information on the INFINITI Engineering Academy or to apply, please visit academy.infiniti.com
About the INFINITI Engineering Academy:
The INFINITI Engineering Academy is INFINITI’s global search for the best young engineers in the world to work across automotive and F1®, on a unique 12-month paid placement.
Now in its sixth successive year, the Academy provides a money-can’t-buy, life-changing career opportunity for seven highly driven students to learn from leading engineers and play an active role in INFINITI’s technical partnership with Renault F1® Team.
For the 2019 edition, seven global regions will participate (Asia & Oceania, Canada, China, Europe (including Russia), Mexico, Middle East and United States), each offering one of the seven places available.
From the applications received, which have grown exponentially with every new edition of the Academy, only the top 70 engineering students (the 10 best applicants of each region) will go through to one of the seven regional finals.
This one-of-a-kind global search for the world’s best up-and-coming engineers will provide each of the seven winners with a career opportunity of a lifetime, complete with travel, accommodation, access to an INFINITI company car, salary and the opportunity to work alongside world-leading engineers at the cutting edge of the automotive and motorsport industries.
Having launched the careers of previous winners, the INFINITI Engineering Academy is the most successful technical recruitment initiative of its kind and the only one that offers a placement in both automotive and F1®. One of its key pillars is exploring crossover opportunities and the sharing of technology between INFINITI road car and Renault F1® Team race car projects. With this added depth of knowledge transfer and the enhanced scope for collaboration that the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance brings, the Academy will provide an unmatched range of experiences and opportunities to the seven 2019 winners.
For more information on the INFINITI Engineering Academy or to apply, please visit academy.infiniti.com
About INFINITI
INFINITI Motor Company Ltd. is headquartered in Hong Kong with representations in 50 markets around the world. The INFINITI brand was launched in 1989. Its range of premium automobiles is currently built in manufacturing facilities in Japan, the United States, United Kingdom and China. INFINITI design studios are located in Atsugi-Shi near Yokohama, London, San Diego and Beijing. INFINITI is in the middle of a major product offensive. The brand has been widely acclaimed for its daring design and innovative driver-assistance technologies. From the 2016 season, INFINITI is a technical partner of the Renault Sport Formula One team, contributing its expertise in hybrid performance.
More information about INFINITI and its industry leading technologies can be found at INFINITI.ca.
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